Taking "Kingdom of Heaven" as an example, a typical epic film must have the following basic elements: 1. It must be combined with historical events, usually ancient. 2. The protagonist must be born in the grassroots, and after a long process of exploration of his own soul and the pulse of the great era, he has achieved something. 3. There must be tragic or pure love between men and women. 4. There must be a clear, just and upward theme, and the protagonist must make a call-to-action speech. 5. There must be spectacular fights and war scenes.
Why combine historical events? Take history as a mirror and borrow the past to satirize the present, right? "Kingdom of Heaven" chose the story of the Crusades, which really made people sweat. This is because no matter how this theme is played, it will come true, not to mention the fact that the Islamic world and the West are in an ideological quarrel, because that protracted and two-century-long "jihad" is simply the Catholic Church in the twilight of the Middle Ages. An embarrassing war of aggression waged by the court against the rising Islam. The brutal massacre of Muslims by Catholicism was heinous, while Islam at that time was superior to Europe in terms of culture and productivity, and was unavoidable in terms of religious tolerance and justice against aggression. Therefore, in the filming of the film, favoring either side will arouse accusations from the religious circles and public opinion.
The film's story is deftly set in the brief truce between Roman Catholic power and Muslims between the Second and Third Crusades, begging many tough questions. As long as you pay attention a little, you will find the director's well-intentioned psychological balance. For example, although Jerusalem was under the control of the enlightened monarch Baldwin IV, the regime was threatened by the Muslim Saladin the Great. For example, in the southern Italian port where the Crusaders departed, Muslims had the right to freedom of religious belief as long as they paid taxes, and the Catholics who killed Muslims in Jerusalem were sentenced to be hanged by Baldwin IV. For example, the hero Balian in the film led a group of civilians to a draw with Saladin's army, which can be said to have achieved a miraculous victory in defending the city, but eventually had to surrender Jerusalem in exchange for the lives of civilians. For example, the bloodthirsty consort Guy de Lusignan slaughtered the entire village of Saladin's sister, and Saladin also killed the Jerusalem Expeditionary Force, who was dead and mourning everywhere. Such a balance will make it not disgusting for anyone who is in any ideological camp to watch it.
The director's careful balance is to let the audience think more about the real world through the film in peace. Thousands of years have passed since the Crusades, but the war over Jerusalem, the holy site of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, is still not over. The land of hope and ideal for all believers has become the source of curses and hatred for thousands of years, so the holy city of Jerusalem will always be the "kingdom of the kingdom" - an ideal kingdom, while on earth it has degenerated into a politicized religion Dirty excuses for competing interests.
Why must the protagonist be born at the grassroots, and after a long process of exploration of his own soul and the pulse of the great era, and achieve something? When the heavens will assign great responsibilities to the people of this country, they must first suffer their minds and wills, toil their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skin, empty their bodies, and act chaotically! Only the man who has passed the experience is heroic, and only the comprehension through pain is the wise man. The historical view of current events creating heroes is common in the East and the West. The protagonist of the film, Balian, is a rural blacksmith in France. He is an illegitimate child. He didn't know who his father was until he was in his 20s. His son died of typhoid fever, and his wife committed suicide and followed her son. He killed the fundamentalist priest who insulted his wife's body, followed his father to Jerusalem to seek redemption and spiritual purification, and wanted to pursue a "Kingdom of Conscience". Unexpectedly, he was involved in one after another of killings and ugly political disputes. Only then did he realize that Jerusalem and the Crusades had lost their advertised pursuit of religious ideals and benevolence and justice. In the end, he successfully led a battle of the people to defend the city with his excellent wisdom and the slogan of harmony and common prosperity for survival.
The tragic or pure love between men and women is another important element of epic films, but love scenes are usually the seasoning in the film, red flowers and green leaves, beautiful heroes, with beautiful women as foil, chivalrous heroes Iron bones will be more prominent. Frankly speaking, the love scenes in "Kingdom of Heaven" are relatively weak. The protagonist Balian does not kill innocent people, and the battlefield morality of the poor thief is even admired by the enemy. In order to express his upright personality to the extreme, the screenwriter inserted a relatively lame love story: the king's consort, Guy de Lusignan, provoked and killed the Muslim caravan and provoke Satan. The Latin army marched in, and Baldwin IV dragged his seriously ill and slender body to negotiate with Saladin. On the premise of Bao's promise to severely punish the shady national master Reynald, Sala agreed to withdraw his troops and avoid a catastrophe. However, the expedition made Baldwin IV sick, and in order to prevent his concubine Guy de Lusignan from inheriting the throne before his death, he begged Balian to marry his sister, Princess Sibylla, and then assassinated Guy de Lusignan. Although Balian has long admired Sibylla, he resolutely rejected the king, because in his view, such a political assassination is a villain. He said: "Either we are determined to create a 'moral kingdom', or we are useless." Balian maintained his integrity under the temptation of power, beauty, and love. Until the fall of Jerusalem, Sibylla stepped down from the queen's throne and fled with the refugees, and Balian approached Sibylla and returned home hand in hand with her. His love for Sibylla has always been pure, not polluted by power and money, and the image of a stalwart man is on the screen. To repeat, ancient costume films often use the past to satirize the present. The reason why we are moved by the integrity of the protagonist when we watch such films is because we lack this spirit in real life. Sex transactions, sugar daddy, and rich women have become a realistic means of survival and are advocated by the society.
In a good movie, the wonderful dialogue will point to the theme of the movie inadvertently. In an epic film, such dialogue will definitely be designed in the protagonist's provocative speech. At the climax of the film, Balian, in order to call on the untrained people of Jerusalem to join the battle to defend the city against Saladin's army, stood on the tower and delivered the following speech: "Now it's our turn to defend Jerusalem, let's do a good job So did the enemy. None of us took Jerusalem from the Muslims personally, and likewise, the last time the city was captured by the Crusaders, the Muslim army that is now attacking us has not yet been born. In fact, the enemy and us Both sides are fighting for the inherited hatred. What is Jerusalem, the Romans tear down the temples of the Jews and build your holy places, the Muslims tear down your holy places and build their mosques. Which is more holy? The wall of the Jews Mosques for Muslims? Or the Holy Sepulchre of Jesus? Who owns it all? Nobody! It belongs to everyone! Today we defend the city, not these stone walls, but the people who live within them!" (It has fallen to us, to defend Jerusalem, and we have made our preparations as well as they can be made. None of us took this city from Muslims. No Muslim of the great army now coming against us was born when this city was lost. We fight over an offence we did not give, against those who were not alive to be offended. What is Jerusalem? Your holy palaces lie over the Jewish temple that the Romans pulled down. The Muslim places of worship lie over yours. Which is more holy? The wall? The Mosque? The Sepulchre? Who has claim? No one has claim. All have claim! We defend this city, not to protect these stones, but the people living within these walls.) I am really It is hard to imagine that a rural blacksmith can have such foresight and insight. Not to mention such remarks in the ignorant and dark Middle Ages, it would lead to murder; even at the forefront of religious disputes in Jerusalem now, it would also lead to the throwing of rotten eggs and rotten tomatoes. However, his speech expressed the demands of ordinary people in dire straits, their demands for peace and co-prosperity, and their demands for religious tolerance. It is a pity that for thousands of years, people still cling to their respective religious positions and take this position as the In the battle of the century, the glory of the holy city of Jerusalem has been eclipsed by religion and politics. The real holy city exists in people's ideal realm - in heaven, that is the real kingdom of heaven.
An epic blockbuster is usually a visual feast, not only with quaint props, beautiful natural and cultural scenery, but also a magnificent war scene, usually showing the historical battles that historical figures participated in. Audiences like me, who were born in a peaceful era, still hope to gallop on the battlefield and point out the arrogance of the country, so such a big drama is definitely a good opportunity for prostitution. The martial arts of "Kingdom of Heaven" are remarkable, especially Saladin's night attack on Jerusalem and the next day's defense of the city, which are memorable in terms of sound effects and visual impact. It is especially rare that these two plays are not simple The naval battle and fireworks show also captured the tactical use and psychological confrontation of the warring parties.
Overall, "Kingdom of Heaven" is an epic blockbuster that will make viewers think, and it's worth watching. The bottom line is that Ridley Scott, the director of this film, is an epic professional who has directed the best Oscar-winning film "Gladiator", and the quality of the film is guaranteed!
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